Romania is not on the path that hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers have been taking through the Balkans to get to western Europe. Macedonia, together with Serbia, Croatia & Slovenia, has begun turning away migrants who usually are not from war zones reminiscent of Syria, Afghanistan & Iraq.—2 p.m. Denmark’s top prosecution authority states a 41-year-old Dane shall be charged with smuggling migrants to Sweden, where they’re believed to have sought asylum. Sunjic said migrants from countries such as Pakistan, Liberia, Morocco, Sri Lanka and Sudan were being turned back from Macedonian borders as well.
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Greek police took position around the peaceful demonstrators gathered near the border and by early afternoon most of the participants had returned to their tents they had set up a short distance away.
Viktor Orban, speaking after a meeting with Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, said it was “politically irresponsible” to continue allowing migrants to enter the European Union unchecked, since they “may or do commit acts of terror”. Most of the attackers, however, were citizens of France or Belgium.
Others were stuck in no-man’s land between Macedonia and Greece, where Macedonia closed off access to all migrants regardless of nationality until a deal could be reached with Greece on how to filter them. The excluded migrants have been camping in Idomeni for three days. “How can the Germans accept us, and not these people (Macedonians)?”
Greek police say there were 1,300 such migrants, compared to more than 2,000 on Saturday, at the border crossing at Idomeni, along with 800 refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, who are allowed to transit through Macedonia.
“We need to protect our country, which is why we are applying these reciprocal measures against those who Croatia and Slovenia consider have no place in their countries”, Vulin said.
Greece’s deputy interior minister, Yiannis Mouzalas, visited Idomeni Saturday and promised free bus travel back to Athens to those who were refused entry into Macedonia.
Conditions worsened on Sunday as temperatures dropped and a first smattering of snow fell.
A group of Iranians, blocked from entering Macedonia from Greece by barbed wire and rows of police, erected a banner on Sunday announcing a hunger strike.
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A few tried to block the rail line running between the two countries.
